Please
find enclosed this Joint Statement of 101 organizations, trade unions and groups, dated 12/2/2016, entitled “Employers
should pay the Levy – Not Migrant Workers;Immoral for Malaysia to take from
Workers to overcome national economic problems”

Kindly acknowledge receipt, and we expect a
reply and prompt action. Any response would be promptly communicated to all 101
organisations/groups/trade unions.

Immoral for Malaysia to take from
Workers to overcome national economic problems

We the 101 undersigned civil society organisations, trade unions and
groups are shocked by the news that the Malaysian government is increasing the
migrant worker (foreign worker) levy to more than double the current rate,
which since January 2013, had to be paid by the migrant workers
themselves. Prior to that, it was paid by the employer of migrant
workers, whereby the introduction of the levy then was to deter employers
employing migrant workers, rather than local Malaysian workers. This was also
stated by the then Malaysian Labour Director-General Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim
who was quoted saying that,“…The rationale behind getting employers to
bear the levy was to discourage them from employing foreigners…”[Star,
16/4/2009]

Migrant
Worker Levy Rates Drastically Increased as of 1/2/2016

The Malaysian government recently
announced that, as of 1/2/2016, annual levy payable for each migrant worker is
increased to RM2,500 (manufacturing, construction and service sectors) and
RM1,500 (plantation and agriculture). Before
this, the annual levy payable for a Migrant Worker in the Manufacturing
sector (RM1,250), Construction sector (RM 1,250), Plantation sector (RM590),
Agricultural sector (RM410) and Services sector (RM1,250 – RM1,850) which was so much lower.

This
new rates in comparison greatly burden the migrant worker in that the annual
levy payable per migrant worker will now be doubled, or even tripled.

For
example, a migrant worker in an electronic factory, classified under the
manufacturing sector, who paid a levy of RM1,250 before, will now have to pay
double, RM2,500. A worker earning a monthly minimum wage of RM900, which is the
wage many migrants are paid, will now have to pay more than RM200 for levy,
leaving them with only less than RM700 as their monthly wage, not taking into
account all other wage deductions. This is most unjust.

It
is unconscionable for the Malaysian government to target migrant workers in the
hope of making extra income of RM2.5 billion for the country from the 2.1
million documented migrant workers in Malaysia to rescue Malaysia from its
current financial woes.

Easily
Exploited With Almost No Access to Justice Makes Migrant
Workers Vulnerable to Employers

When Malaysia,
introduced Minimum Wage, employers and employer groups complained that their
labour cost had gone up, and they could not afford it. In response, the
Malaysian government decided that employers no longer need to pay the migrant
worker levy, thus the obligation to pay the levy fell on migrant workers
themselves.

Contract substitution
remains a problem. Migrant workers agree to come to work in Malaysia, but when
they start working, the migrant workers complain that they are now paid lower
than what they had agreed to in their country of origin with the employer
and/or his agent. Many employers have also used the Minimum Wage of RM900, as
the standard wages they pay migrant workers.

Because of the debt
incurred by migrant workers in coming to Malaysia to work, which is about
RM5,000 and the practice of employers and/or agents holding on to their
passports and work permits, migrant workers find themselves in a form of bonded
labour, and not able to do anything else but just survive.

With the very low
wages, they receive; many are forced into doing overtime sometimes 4 hours per
day, working on rest days and even public holidays to make ends meet. Malaysian
law stipulates a draconian overtime limit of 104 hours every month. This means,
in effect migrant workers can be forced to work for 12 hours a day because in
many workplaces doing overtime is no longer an option that workers can refuse.
As such, migrant workers and even local workers can be considered to be engaged
in some form of ‘forced labour’.

For migrant workers,
access to justice remains a myth for many. When they complain about rights
violations, what happens in many cases is that they are terminated, and their
permit to work and/or remain in Malaysia is also terminated. This causes
migrant workers to be easily controlled and exploited cheaply. They do not even
have the option to claim justice.

Employers
Contribute Less to Migrant Workers Income

Under the Malaysian law, employers
are required to contribute 13% of the monthly income, inclusive of overtime
earnings, to the Employees Provident Fund, this requirement is not applicable
to the migrant workers. This makes migrant workers cheaper.

Further, since many
employers do not take in migrant workers directly as their own employees, but
take and use them as workers who are supplied by the labour suppliers - legally
known as the contractors for labour - it effectively prevents these supplied migrant
workers the right to join in-house trade unions. Even if they do join
national/regional unions, they simply will not be able to enjoy the extra
rights and benefits that come by reason of a Collective Bargaining Agreement
between Union and Employer, simply by reason that they are not recognised as
employees. Calls for the abolition of the ‘contractor for labour system’ by
trade unions and civil society have gone unheeded by the government.

Malaysia recognizes
that households earning less than RM4,000 a month requires financial
assistance, and local workers do get a small assistance from the government
through the BR1M program – but migrant workers are excluded from this benefit.

Weakening
Ringgit Causes Migrants to earn 20-40% less.

Whilst, the financial
problems Malaysia is facing, coupled with the increased cost of living - new
taxes, increased transportation costs, and the weakening of the Malaysian
Ringgit in relation to currency of the country of origins of migrants – it is
the migrant worker who suffers the most.

The weakening ringgit
also means that the money migrant workers send back home to their families is
now much less and this has a serious impact on their families/dependents and the
ability to settle their debts back home. It was recently reported, that
"For instance, employees from Bangladesh used to make 44 taka for every
RM1, but now it is about 17 taka. The drop is very drastic, more than
40%."Even the ringgit to the Indonesian rupiah has seen a drop in value by
20%," (Malaysian Insider, 5/2/2016)

It is totally unjust
for Malaysia to impose new financial obligations by law on migrant workers,
which did not exist when they agreed with their employers to come and work in
Malaysia for 3-5 years. Any new obligations especially of payment by migrant
workers should only apply to new migrant workers who have yet to agree to come
to Malaysia to work – certainly not to those who are already here and working.

The Malaysian Trade Union
Congress(MTUC) and employer groups have been informed that employers will now
have to pay migrant worker levy. This was also mentioned in a media
report, which stated, ‘The FMM[Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers] said the government recently informed
employers that the levy burden would be shifted back to them.
(Star, 2/2/2016).

However, employer
groups have started a campaign lobbying the Malaysian government to
re-consider, and the Malaysian government has been reported as saying that they
may re-consider. There is concern that this re-consideration may not just
be about the amount of levy payable, but also the question as to who will have
to pay the levy – migrant workers or their employer?

Therefore,
we the undersigned

Call on the Malaysian government in
the name of justice, to ensure that it must be the employers of migrant workers
that should be paying this Migrant Worker levy – not the migrant workers;

Call on the Malaysian government to
also reconsider the increase of the levy rate, at this time whilst Malaysia,
and especially small Malaysian businesses, are affected by the economic crisis
and the effect of the falling Malaysian ringgit.

Call on the Malaysian government to
increase the Minimum Wage of all workers in Malaysia to RM1,200 – RM1,500, to
compensate for the increased cost of living in Malaysia, and the falling value
of the Malaysian ringgit withreference
to the currency in migrant worker’s countries of origin.

Call on the Malaysian government to
abolish the ‘contractor for labour’ system, and ensure that all workers that
are working in a workplace are all recognised employees of the said workplace,
and are treated equally as workers.

Charles Hector

Mohd Roszeli bin Majid

Pranom Somwong

For and on behalf of
the 101 organisations, trade unions and groups listed below

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